Yeah, I know what you’re probably thinking. “Q*bert? Out of all the classic video games that have come and gone, why would you pick Q*bert?” Well for one, how can you not love a character that resembles an ant eater and shoots stuff out his nose, and two, Q*bert was one of the best games from my childhood.

I sat for hours playing that damn game, trying to turn the squares on the pyramid the right color so ol’ Q could move on to the next level. All the while dodging that snake, as well as Slick and Sam, those two gremlin-like things that were always trying to destroy my hard work. Bastards!

The things that was appealing about Q*bert was its simplicity. You didn’t have to go around trying to find guys to shoot, and you didn’t have to run through jungles hiding in trenches. It was just you, a pyramid, and a few villains. Say what you will, but Q*bert has become a part of pop culture now. He’s been mentioned on everything from Futurama and The Simpsons, and has appeared on lunch boxes and other memorabilia. Heck, he even had his own TV show back in 1983 with a segment on CBS’s Saturday Supercade. Awesome!

Most people I talk to have fond memories of the game, and in my mind that makes it a classic. Compared to the video games of today, Q*bert may look old school, but he’ll always be credited for providing me with hours and hours of fun by not only playing the game, but trying to figure out just what exactly he really was.